


Bottled Up Emotions

by BaileyB00



Series: Fantastical Happenings [1]
Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Fluff, I think I've the word "smile" about 38 billion times in my writing career, M/M, Minho's a wizard n stuff, Sorry Minho, Unreliable Character, bc i can, can u tell I literally never edit before posting, can we trust Minho in this? idk, he makes Jisung all these potions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-26
Updated: 2019-08-26
Packaged: 2020-10-01 20:56:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20402743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BaileyB00/pseuds/BaileyB00
Summary: Every day, Jisung visits Whimsical Wonders, a magic shop at which he can buy another bottle of the wizard’s specialty—liquid emotions. One dose is powerful enough to make the drinker feel a certain way for the rest of the day. As the maker of the potions, Minho can’t help but notice that his most frequent customer only ever buys one emotion: Happiness.





	Bottled Up Emotions

**Author's Note:**

> minho might not be 100% trustworthy. you’ve been forewarned

Jisung just can’t seem to get happy.

He wakes up every day—practically dragging himself out of bed—but only because of the promise of paying a visit to Whimsical Wonders. He’d been so relieved when he’d first stumbled upon the wizard’s shop; he had wandered inside on accident one day and was completely amazed at everything inside. There was a fire burning in the fireplace, which should’ve made the room unbearably warm considering it was July, but Jisung found it was quite nice. Additionally, it took Jisung about thirty seconds to realize the fire must’ve been enchanted; it kept changing color. First it was orange, then red, then yellow and green and blue and white. Jisung had never seen anything like it before.

There were shelves lining every wall of the shop, along with tables and large wicker baskets filling up the room. Each was filled with various bottles, vials, and charms. Jisung looked around in wonderment, his eyes practically popping out of his skull. Eventually, his gaze landed on a sign that read: _ Bottled Emotions. _

“Can I help you?”

Jisung jumped and turned around, finding himself face-to-face with a young man who he could only assume was the wizard who owned the shop. He wore a pointed hat, black jeans, a plain white shirt, and a cloak that shimmered and reminded Jisung of the sky at midnight. He had an amused expression on his face, and something told Jisung this wasn’t the first time someone had wandered into his shop looking so amazed.

“Uh, sorry,” Jisung says. “I was just—just looking.”

“It’s alright,” the wizard says. “Anything in particular catch your eye?”

Jisung nodded and gestured at the shelf of Bottled Emotions. “Do you—what emotions do you have?”

“Some of everything,” the wizard replied. “They’re kinda my specialty. I’ve got Sadness, Anger, Fear—those are some of the less popular ones—and the more popular ones, like Surprise, Lust, Amusement, Happiness—”

“Happiness?” Jisung perked up at that one. 

The wizard smiled. “Take a look,” he says. “It’ll be the pink one.” 

Jisung did as he was told and selected the bottle with the peach-colored liquid inside. _ Happiness, _ read the label. _ Drink me to experience the feeling you seek. _

Jisung was sold. He eyed the pricetag and immediately decided that feeling happy was well worth the money. “Just one dose a day,” the wizard advised him when he brought three bottles of liquid happiness to the counter. “Any more could have some nasty side effects.”

“Like what?”

“Oh, physical, mostly. Headache, fever, flu-like symptoms, stuff like that. And then there’s the emotional side effects: taking too much of one emotion can actually have the opposite effect, so if you drink too much Happiness, you might end up feeling intense anger or sadness. So just make sure you’re being safe.”

“I will,” Jisung replied. “Thanks…”

“Minho,” the wizard supplied. “And you are?”

“Jisung,” he says. “Thanks again, Minho.”

“No problem, Jisung,” he says with a smile. “And come back sometime soon—you can tell me how the potion works!”

Jisung drank the potion as soon as he got home. Almost immediately, he began to feel the effects. His mood instantly improved, and for the first time in a long time, he felt motivated to get things done. In the span of an hour, he cleaned his entire house, called his mother (whom he hadn’t spoken to in quite some time), and he even made plans to spend time with his friend Felix, the dragon slayer, with whom he hadn’t spent much time in recent weeks. He didn’t know how he’d ever survived before the Happiness potion. He felt so good, even by the end of the day, that he decided to go back to Whimsical Wonders in the morning.

That was six months ago.

Now, it’s December, and Jisung can barely pull himself out of bed. He truly relies on his daily visits to Minho’s shop. He craves the feeling of liquid Happiness sliding down his throat every morning. Sometimes he doesn’t even wait to leave Whimsical Wonders; he just takes the cork out of the bottle and drinks it down immediately after paying for it.

All of this is nothing if not concerning to Minho. He’s seen Jisung’s slow decline, even if Jisung himself can’t. He can see how his most frequent customer has come in, day after day, each day with a little less pep in his step. 

He hates seeing Jisung this way. The boy deserves to be happy, and genuinely so, not just as a result of some stupid potion. When he’s on the potion, Jisung _ radiates _happiness. Minho has seen it. 

He wonders what Jisung would be like if he tried to be happy on his own, without the help of the Happiness potion, just once.

Today, just like every day for the past few weeks since he’s taken notice to Jisung’s steady decline, Minho’s head snaps up every time the door to his shop swings open. Normally, Jisung shows up within half an hour of opening. The first few times the door opens, Minho is only a little disappointed when none of the people walking in are Jisung. Instead, all his customers in the morning are lost-looking tourists; only some walk away with magical items, and the rest select nonmagical (and in Minho’s opinion, boring) herbal remedies. The suckers. 

Minho does his best not to show his disappointment whenever someone who isn’t Jisung walks in.

_ Finally, _ at 11:28, right within his usual time slot, Jisung arrives at Whimsical Wonders. He looks… utterly decrepit. Like he hasn’t seen proper sunlight in days. Like the weight of the world is resting on his shoulders. Minho knew Jisung wasn’t well from the first time he’d happened upon his shop, but he never imagined the boy could end up this bad. 

He had to do something.

“Hello, Jisung,” Minho says to him. “How are you today?”

“Terrible,” Jisung grumbles. “But I’ll be better soon. You know what I’m here for.”

“I do,” Minho says, moving in front of the Bottled Emotions shelf just as Jisung’s hand stretched towards it. “But…” 

“But what?” Jisung asks, frowning slightly.

“You don’t… seem well,” Minho says, frowning. 

“I’m not,” Jisung agrees. “That’s why I keep coming back for your potion. You know that, Minho. Now, can I have one of those?” Jisung reaches for a bottle of Happiness. 

“Hang on for just a second,” Minho says. “You _ do _ know there’s other ways of being happy, right?”

Jisung pulls his hand back; he suddenly looks small and drawn in on himself. “He wouldn’t meet Minho’s eyes. "Of course I do,” he says quietly. “I’m just… not very good at it.”

“I can help with that.”

Jisung’s head snaps up. He meets Minho’s eyes, looking slightly confused. “What?”

“We can hang out,” Minho replies. “Sheesh, do I really need to spell it out for you?”

“No,” Jisung mumbles, his cheeks turning a lovely shade of pink. “But—who’s gonna watch your shop?”

“Don’t worry, I have backup,” Minho says with a smile. “HYUNJINNIE!”

A tall, wide-eyed boy comes running through the door that Jisung knows leads to the back of Whimsical Wonders. “What’s up?” he asks, sounding a little out of breath. 

“I need you to watch the shop today,” Minho tells him. He looks back to Jisung with a grin on his face. “I’m going out.”

“Really?” Hyunjin asks, the surprise evident on his face. “What for?”

“Fun,” Minho says, “duh.”

“Okay,” Hyunjin says, not sounding quite convinced. “You don’t normally do that, though. And I didn’t think you trusted me enough to leave me alone in the shop.”

“Well, I do now. Just don’t let the place burn to the ground.”

“Will do.”

↞♡◈♕◈♡↠

“Minho?”

“Yes, Jisung?”

“Where are we going?”

Jisung and Minho walk down the sidewalk together. They’d only just left the shop; Jisung lasted approximately thirty seconds before breaking the silence. Minho looks at Jisung and smiles. “My house,” he says.

Jisung stops. “Why?”

“Because,” Minho says, “it’ll be fun. And I wanna show you some _ real _ magic.”

Jisung smiles a little, and he realizes this is the first time he’s done so in a long while without taking the Happiness potion. “Okay,” he says. 

When they get to Minho’s, he takes Jisung by the hand and practically drags him into the kitchen. “What are we doing?” Jisung asks.

“We’re baking a pie,” Minho says.

Jisung blinks. “I thought you were gonna show me magic.”

“I am,” Minho said. “Just trust me, okay?”

“Okay,” Jisung says dubiously. 

Jisung watches as Minho takes off his pointed hat and cloak and proceeds to flit about the kitchen pulling various things from the cabinets, cupboards, and the refrigerator. “Oh, can you look through that recipe book for me?” he asks Jisung, gesturing towards the counter that is empty save for the aforementioned recipe book. “Find the one for blackberry pie.”

“Okay.” Jisung grabs the book and flips to the page. He reads the recipe over. “Seems simple enough,” he says.

“That’s why we’re doing it,” Minho replies in a sing-song voice. He stands on his tiptoes to reach a mixing bowl from the top shelf. “Open up the flour,” he says to Jisung, “but please don’t spill it. That shit’s messy.”

Jisung laughs a little and does as told. “How much do you need?”

“We,” Minho says, “need half a cup. The measuring cups are in there.” He points at a cupboard as he puts the blackberries in the mixing bowl.

Jisung measures the flour and somehow manages not to get it everywhere. He does as Minho instructs him to do as they mix together various other pie ingredients, and as Minho slides the pie into the oven, Jisung realizes:

He feels good. Really good, in fact. And he doesn’t even know why.

Maybe it could be the fact that he was finally getting to spend time with Minho outside the shop. He’d admired the wizard since the first day he met him, but the Happiness potion did nothing to increase his confidence. Felix had been unfortunate enough to listen to Jisung every time he came to complain about what a chicken he was around Minho. However, nothing the dragon slayer said could get Jisung to “man up,” as Felix had called it.

“Wanna watch a movie?” Minho asks, startling him out of his reverie. “You can pick.”

“Oh, um,” Jisung says, “Sure.” 

Minho smiles and takes Jisung by the hand, pulling him into the living room. He opens up a tall cabinet, which is filled with what has to be hundreds of movies. Jisung’s eyes widen a little, and Minho gives a small laugh. “Go ahead, pick whichever one you want. I’ll be right back,” he says before wandering back into the kitchen. Jisung looks over the movies for a minute or two before finally settling on _ The Perks of Being a Wallflower. _

“Good choice,” Minho says, reentering the room and startling Jisung a little. 

“It’s one of my favorites,” Jisung admits. “I read the book a while back, and then when I saw the movie. . . I loved it.”

“Me too,” Minho says. He hands Jisung a soda bottle—which he hadn’t noticed the wizard had been holding—and says, “You sit. I’ll put the movie in.”

Jisung sits awkwardly on the couch, pulling his knees to his chest in an attempt to take up as little space as possible. When Minho comes to sit next to him, however, he frowns a little. “What are you doing?” he asks.

“...Sitting?”

Minho scoffs. “At least get comfortable,” he says, grabbing a blanket and flopping down next to Jisung, who slowly puts his feet onto the floor. Minho throws the blanket—which Jisung notices is made from the same velvety material as Minho’s cloak—over both of their laps and plays the movie. 

At first, Jisung is stiff as a board. His heart is thudding and he doesn’t know what to do with himself. However, by the time Charlie meets Sam and Patrick, Minho has thrown his arm around Jisung’s shoulders and drawn him close. Jisung is still unsure until Minho whispers, “It’s okay, Jisungie. Just enjoy the movie.”

Jisung nods faintly, a hint of a smile on his lips. He leans into Minho’s side and takes a slow, deep breath. His racing heart slows, and for the first time in a long time, he feels genuinely relaxed.

Especially when Minho’s fingers slide into his hair. Jisung sighs. He’s glad; of course he is, but that doesn’t stop him from wondering why Minho’s doing this. 

“Because I like you, Jisungie,” Minho whispers, “duh.”

“U-um,” Jisung stammers, “what?”

“You were talking to yourself,” Minho explained. “Don’t worry, I wasn’t reading your mind, if that’s what you’re thinking. That’s too complex of a spell for me.”

“Ah. . .” Jisung says. “Okay. Um, sorry.”

“Don’t worry,” Minho replies, laughing. “It was kind of cute.”

Jisung’s face burns; he’s about to disagree when a dinging noise comes from the direction of the kitchen. Minho jumps up. “That’ll be the pie,” he says. “I’ll be right back. You just keep watching the movie.”

And just like that, all Jisung’s warmth is gone. The blanket does him no good. His entire left side feels ice cold without Minho sitting next to him. 

Before long, though, Minho reenters the room. “That shit’s hotter than the surface of the sun,” he announces. “We’re gonna have to wait if you wanna try it.” Minho flops back down onto the couch next to Jisung, and seconds later his fingers are back in Jisung’s hair. He pulls Jisung close so that his head rests on Minho’s shoulder, and his fingers card steadily through Jisung’s locks. Jisung’s eyes slide shut, and he is at peace.

↞♡◈♕◈♡↠

“Jisungie?”

There’s a warm, gentle hand on his shoulder. His face is pressed against something warm. “Jisung, wake up. I need to get up.”

Jisung’s eyes crack open; he realizes his face is pressed to Minho’s neck. “Shit,” he mumbles, sitting up and scooting away from Minho. “Sorry. How long was I—” 

“A few hours,” Minho answers. “The movie ended a while ago, but you seemed tired, so I just let you sleep.”

“A few_ hours?” _Jisung repeats. He runs a distressed hand through his hair. He looks out the window and sees that the sun has begun to go down, the late afternoon sunlight pouring into the room from between the curtains. “Oh my god, I’m sorry. You should’ve just pushed me off; you probably had other things to do.”

“It’s fine, Jisungie,” Minho reassures him with a laugh. “Really.”

“Okay,” Jisung replies dubiously. “If you say so.”

“I do,” Minho affirms. “Anyways, I’m sure you’re hungry. Want some pie?”

Jisung nods and allows himself to be led back into the kitchen. He only said yes to be polite, but he realizes how hungry he is when he sees the pie sitting on the counter. Minho cuts into it; it’s still steaming, which should not be possible—when Minho hands the slice to Jisung, he can tell it’s the perfect temperature for eating. 

“How’d you do that?” Jisung asks.

“Do what?”

“This should be cold,” Jisung says, gesturing towards the pie.

Minho smiles. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he says. “I certainly didn’t spell the pie warm, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

Jisung rolls his eyes and smiles. “If you say so.”

Jisung feels his phone vibrate in his pocket and takes it out to look at it. There are exactly thirty-six messages from Felix; half are asking where the hell he’s been all day and the other half are about someone named Changbin, whom Jisung has never heard of before. He reassures his friend that he’s fine and repockets his phone, but not before realizing. . . 

“Shit. I slept the entire day away,” he mutters. “There’s no way I’m gonna be able to sleep tonight.”

“I might be able to help with that,” Minho offers. “But, um—it’s a little different from the other magic you’ve seen me do.”

Jisung quirks an eyebrow. “How so?”

It’s, um—well,” Minho says, looking more awkward than he has all day. “The spell is—it lets you feed off my energy.”

“Okay. . ?”

“So you’ll need to stay in close proximity to me,” Minho states bluntly. His face goes slightly pink.

“Oh,” Jisung says, his own face heating up. 

“So I don’t have to do it,” Minho says. “If you’re not comfortable—” 

“It’s okay,” Jisung blurts. “I—I don’t mind. And I don’t wanna mess up my sleep schedule.”

“Oh,” Minho says. “Well. Okay.”

He turns around and pulls a kettle and tea bags out of the cupboard above the stove. “You’re lucky I have this stuff premade,” he says. “You never know when you’re gonna need a spell like this.” He boils the water and allows the tea bags to steep, muttering in—is that Latin?—as he does so. Finally, he turns to Jisung. “This is a pretty simple spell,” he explains. “We both drink the tea, then we’re emotionally connected for twelve hours. The spell I said while making it allows your emotions to match mine, so when I get tired, so will you.”

He pours the tea into two mugs and hands one to Jisung. “Thank you,” he murmurs and takes a sip. It’s caramelly, which is unexpected but not unpleasant, and it makes Jisung feel warm inside. That alone makes him feel instantly more relaxed. 

“How do you feel?” Minho asks, setting his mug on the table.

“Good,” Jisung replies honestly. “Really good.”

“Perfect,” Minho says, “that means it worked. Let’s go.”

“Go?”

“We’re gonna finish that movie. Since you didn’t get to earlier.”

Jisung blushes, but this time when Minho sits next to him on the couch, he doesn’t hesitate to curl into his side. Minho’s fingers intertwine with his, and he sighs. His eyelids already feel heavy. 

“How do you feel, Jisungie?” Minho asks again.

“Sleepy,” Jisung mumbles. “I’m never gonna finish this movie.”

Minho laughs. “Maybe next time we’ll watch it all the way through,” he says. “When you’re more well rested.”

Jisung nods. “I like that idea.”

Minho looks into Jisung’s eyes. “You made it through the day without the Happiness potion,” he says. “Isn’t it magical being happy on your own? Without magic coursing through your veins?”

Jisung smiles. “Yeah,” he replies. “It really is.”

**Author's Note:**

> y'all come scream with me on  
[tumblr](https://bbaileyb00.tumblr.com/)
> 
> EDIT 9/8/19: guys part two of this is gonna be so much longer than part one 😳 i’m pulling out all the stops for this series lemme tell ya


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